Major
Major is a Japanese baseball manga franchise created by Takuya Mitsuda, following the life and professional career of baseball player Gorō Honda.
Last updated October 7, 2026
AI crawler reads
No AI crawler has read this profile since Oct 28, 2026.
Overview
Major, stylized in all caps, is a Japanese sports manga franchise written and illustrated by Takuya Mitsuda. The original series was serialized in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday from August 1994 through July 2010 and was collected in 78 tankōbon volumes. Its central character is Gorō Honda, later known as Gorō Shigeno, whose life is traced from childhood baseball through school competition, professional play in Japan, a career in the United States, international competition, retirement, and a later return to Japanese baseball. The story uses baseball as both its setting and its primary dramatic framework, while also following bereavement, adoption, family relationships, friendship, rivalry, injury, psychological pressure, and the pursuit of difficult athletic goals. Gorō's ambition is shaped by his admiration for his father, professional pitcher Shigeharu Honda. After Shigeharu dies when Gorō is young, Gorō's determination to reach Major League Baseball becomes a long-term narrative objective. The series repeatedly places him in situations where technical ability alone is insufficient: he must rebuild teams, adapt after injuries, overcome the yips, recover from loss of motivation, and reconcile personal ambition with loyalty to teammates and family. Major's supporting cast is built around these recurring relationships. Toshiya Sato develops from Gorō's childhood friend into a principal baseball rival and catcher; Kaoru Shimizu becomes a softball player, Gorō's romantic partner, and eventually his wife; and Joe Gibson, the American pitcher whose pitch causes Shigeharu's death, becomes a complicated rival and figure of remorse. Other story arcs move through little league, junior high, high school, minor-league baseball, the Baseball World Cup, Major League Baseball, and a later generation of players. The franchise was adapted into a 154-episode television anime produced initially by Studio Hibari and later by SynergySP. The anime aired on NHK Educational TV across six seasons from November 2004 to September 2010. Two original video animations were released in December 2011 and January 2012. The manga received the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 1996. By October 2024, the original manga reportedly had more than 66.66 million copies in circulation, placing it among Japan's best-selling manga series. The original story was followed by Major 2nd, a sequel that began serialization in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in March 2015 and shifts attention toward the next generation, including Gorō's children. Major is therefore best understood not as a food or consumer-goods brand, but as a long-running Japanese manga and anime intellectual property whose identity rests on serialized sports storytelling, character development across life stages, and baseball-centered themes of perseverance and succession.
History
Takuya Mitsuda launched Major in Weekly Shōnen Sunday in August 1994. The series was conceived as a baseball-centered coming-of-age narrative, but its scope expanded well beyond a single school tournament or a fixed team. Its protagonist, Gorō Honda, is introduced as a child whose identity is closely tied to his father, Shigeharu Honda, a professional baseball player. Shigeharu's career-ending arm injury, transition from pitching to hitting, and subsequent death after being struck by a pitch from American player Joe Gibson establish the emotional foundation for Gorō's ambitions. The loss gives Gorō a personal reason to pursue professional baseball and, eventually, to seek a confrontation with Gibson. The early story follows Gorō through childhood and little league. After Shigeharu's death, Gorō is adopted by Momoko Hoshino, his former nursery-school teacher and Shigeharu's fiancée. Momoko later marries Hideki Shigeno, a professional pitcher and Shigeharu's longtime friend, and Gorō takes the Shigeno surname. In the Mifune Dolphins little league team, Gorō recruits and bonds with players including Daisuke Komori, Ryota Sawamura, and Kaoru Shimizu. The team-centered structure establishes a recurring pattern in the franchise: Gorō's individual talent is important, but his progress depends on building relationships and helping unstable or incomplete teams become competitive. As Gorō grows older, the narrative moves through junior high and high school baseball. A shoulder injury temporarily distances him from pitching, but he eventually returns as a left-handed player. He faces Toshiya Sato, a childhood friend who has become a formidable catcher and rival. Gorō and Toshiya briefly attend Kaido High School, one of the strongest baseball programs in the story, but Gorō leaves in search of a more demanding personal challenge. He then enrolls at Seishuu High School, a former girls' school without an established baseball team, and helps create a team from the ground up. The Seishuu arc emphasizes organization, leadership, and the difference between joining an established powerhouse and constructing a competitive identity with inexperienced players. Gorō's ambition eventually carries him to the United States. He begins in the minor leagues and encounters Joe Gibson Jr., who harbors resentment connected to the deaths and breakdowns associated with his family. Gorō later represents Japan in the Baseball World Cup, where he faces Gibson Jr. and Joe Gibson. The international arc expands Major's setting from Japanese school baseball to cross-border professional competition while retaining its emphasis on inherited conflict and reconciliation. The professional portion of the story follows Gorō with the American Hornets. He initially succeeds as a pitcher but develops the yips, a performance problem that threatens his career. Psychological support helps him recover, although renewed success does not eliminate the emotional and motivational challenges of professional sport. Joe Gibson's retirement and the prospect of further competition with Gibson Jr. become important sources of renewed purpose. Gorō later faces Gibson Jr. in the World Series while his family undergoes a major life event, linking professional achievement with domestic continuity. After a fourteen-year professional career, Gorō retires because of a shoulder injury. He subsequently returns to Japan as a hitter and fielder for the Blue Oceans, creating a generational conclusion in which his children can view him as an athletic role model in the same way he once viewed his own father. This movement from father to son and then toward Gorō's children is central to the franchise's idea of baseball as a family and cultural inheritance. The original manga concluded its serialization in July 2010 after 78 collected volumes. The anime adaptation began broadcasting in November 2004 and ultimately ran for six seasons and 154 episodes through September 2010. Two original video animations followed in December 2011 and January 2012. In March 2015, Mitsuda began Major 2nd, a sequel manga that shifts the focus toward the next generation while preserving the original franchise's baseball setting. Major received the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 1996. By October 2024, reported circulation for the original manga exceeded 66.66 million copies.
- 2024
Circulation exceeds 66.66 million copies
[1]Reported circulation for the original manga surpasses 66.66 million copies by October 2024.
- 2015
Major 2nd begins
[1]The sequel manga Major 2nd starts serialization in Weekly Shōnen Sunday, extending the property into a new generation.
- 2012
Second original video animation released
[1]The second original video animation is released in January.
- 2011
First original video animation released
[1]The first of two Major original video animations is released in December.
- 2010
Original manga and anime conclude
[1]The original manga serialization ends in July, while the six-season television adaptation concludes in September after 154 episodes.
- 2004
Television anime launches
[1]The Major television anime begins broadcasting on NHK Educational TV, produced initially by Studio Hibari.
- 1996
Shogakukan Manga Award
[1]Major receives the Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category.
- 1994
Manga serialization begins
[1]Major begins publication in Shogakukan's Weekly Shōnen Sunday, introducing Gorō Honda and his baseball-centered family story.
Products and positioning
A long-form Japanese sports entertainment franchise centered on baseball, personal resilience, rivalry, family continuity, and progression from youth competition to professional sport.
Manga · 1994
Major
The original manga by Takuya Mitsuda follows Gorō Honda from childhood through professional baseball. It was serialized from 1994 to 2010 and collected in 78 tankōbon volumes. Its narrative spans Japanese youth baseball, high school competition, American minor-league and Major League Baseball settings, international play, injury, family, and retirement.
Original video animation · 2011
Major original video animations
Two original video animations expanded the animated Major property after the television series. They were released in December 2011 and January 2012.
Sequel manga · 2015
Major 2nd
Major 2nd is the sequel manga launched in 2015. It moves the franchise's focus toward the next generation of baseball players, including characters connected to Gorō, while continuing the original property's sports and family themes.
Sources1 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/major · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled